Anthony’s run for donor

Anthony Rebori completed the Sheffield 10K last month to raise over £2,000 on behalf of the doctors and nurses who helped treat him for more than a decade.

The brave runner was cheered on by an army of supporters on October 30, with the money he raised going to support the renal unit at the Northern General Hospital.

Anthony, aged 51, of Rotherham, said: “There’s no way I could have completed the Sheffield 10K without the kidney transplant I received last year, following five years on dialysis. I had mixed feelings after the transplant. It really made me think that someone had died so that my life could be better. It was a special, but humbling feeling and it was then I decided to do some fundraising, in memory of my donor, to whom I will be forever grateful,”

Anthony began suffering with achy leg muscles, extreme fatigue and nausea about 15 years ago and a test found he had protein in his urine. For ten years immunosuppressants controlled his symptoms, but his creatinine levels eventually became so high, he was told he needed dialysis. He was added to the organ transplant waiting list and was on there for five years until finally, in June last year, he received a phone call that he had got a donor.

“Preparing for the run was really tough, but I have fantastic friends and they’ve seen me go through everything,” said Anthony, who first noticed his sight was deteriorating 25 years ago, before being diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa.